Ranking Wisconsin football's 2025 schedule matchups from easiest to toughest
The Badgers will face ten teams who were bowl-eligible last season, as well as three teams who reached the College Football Playoff -- Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana. To make things even tougher, a trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, headlines the Badgers' nonconference slate. The Crimson Tide project to be one of the nation's top-ranked teams entering the season.
In addition to those top-tier matchups, the Badgers will also face teams with improved rosters and hopes of making a push to the CFP, including Illinois, Michigan, Washington, and Iowa. Three of these games are at home, although that doesn't necessarily make the matchups any less daunting.
Naturally, with kickoff less than one month away, it felt fitting to rank each one of Wisconsin's 12 games this fall from easiest to hardest, to illustrate just how difficult the team's upcoming tests are.
12. Middle Tennessee - Sept. 6
Middle Tennessee only won three games last season. Wisconsin shouldn't have any issue with the Blue Raiders in Week Two, barring any major injury. This should be a game where the Badgers test out some of their new offensive plays so that they can keep their matchup against Alabama the week after somewhat competitive.
11. Miami (OH) - Aug. 28
Miami (OH) was one of the better teams in the Group of 5 last season, making the MAC Championship and having some close calls with Power Four teams, including Cincinnati. This isn't the easiest buy game you'll see, but it should be a relatively stress-free home opener for the Badgers, who hope to win by a wider margin than they did last season against Western Michigan.
10. Maryland - Sept. 20
Wisconsin's new starting quarterback, Billy Edwards Jr., transferred this winter from College Park to Madison, so this game is an important one to prove to his former squad that his transfer was a successful decision. After a tough game in Tuscaloosa, this could be an excellent 'get-right' spot for the Badgers, who have a very small chance of upsetting the Crimson Tide on the road.
9. Washington - Nov. 8
Washington is one of the popular dark horse Big Ten teams for 2025, and rightfully so. Quarterback Demond Williams is talented. He made a national name for himself during last year's Sun Bowl, where he threw for four touchdowns and flashed some impressive speed with his legs. This matchup against the Huskies feels like one of the games that the Badgers need to win to keep some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season. A home game against a new Big Ten member could be a good way to welcome them to the conference and get the season back on track.
8. Minnesota - Nov. 29
Wisconsin has lost Paul Bunyan's Axe three times in the last four years. One way for Luke Fickell to get back in fans' good graces is to bring the Axe back to Madison and reestablish a winning record over P.J. Fleck and the Gophers. Minnesota had a solid 2024 campaign, but with new quarterback Drake Lindsey at the helm, this could be a season where Wisconsin could find a road triumph over its rival.
7. Iowa - Oct. 11
During spring ball, many of the returning Wisconsin football players named Iowa as the team they most wanted to beat during the 2025 football season. After losing in embarrassing fashion by 32 points last season in Iowa City, many veteran Badgers haved circled this game on their calendars as a game they want to win. Iowa had a solid off-season, adding high-profile transfers, including quarterback Mark Gronowski. Still, the team has to prove that they can make noise offensively. This is a game in which Wisconsin has to play well in for the temperature of Fickell's seat to lower.
6. Illinois - Nov. 22
Illinois has found similar success to Bret Bielema's Wisconsin teams of the early 2010s and is looking to replicate that this upcoming fall. What could be a better signature win for Fickell and the Badgers if they could take down both a Big Ten conference contender and a former Wisconsin head coach at Camp Randall? Beating a team as deep as the Fighting Illini isn't easy, but this game will definitely be packed and rocking for Jump Around.
5. At Indiana - Nov. 15
Indiana had their best football season in program history in 2024. Now the objective is to replicate that success entering the second year of the Curt Cignetti era. With Cal transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza at the helm, the Hoosiers will be a tough team to beat this fall. However, Indiana benefitted immensely last season from an easy schedule. This season will be their year to prove that they belong in the same category as the rest of the contenders at the top of the Big Ten. Wisconsin would need to bring its A-game, but an upset win in Bloomington is a decent possibility depending on the Badgers' level of quarterback play.
4. At Michigan - Oct. 4
This is the first tough game on the schedule where the Badgers have a semi-decent shot at winning. Winning in the Big House is very hard, but there's no better year to do this since the Wolverines will be (most likely) starting a true-freshman quarterback, which isn't a typical recipe for success in the Big Ten. The Badgers would need to have an excellent game to win this one, but it's more realistic than the three other games listed below.
3. Ohio State - Oct. 18
Wisconsin hosts reigning national champion Ohio State in mid-October. The contest could be a trap game for the Buckeyes, since they could be looking ahead both to their second bye week of the season and an upcoming home matchup against conference rival Penn State. That game is one of, if not the, most important matchup of Ohio State's season, which is why this matchup against Wisconsin isn't higher on this list. Also, Wisconsin upset top-ranked Ohio State in Madison in 2010, and it would be a storybook sequel for the Badgers to upset them in Camp Randall 15 years later.
2. At Oregon - Oct. 25
Autzen Stadium has been one of the most difficult places for opposing teams to play in the 2010s and 2020s, with how loud and energetic the Ducks' fanbase is. Another reason this matchup will be so difficult for Wisconsin is its place as the last game in a brutal four-game stretch. The Badgers face Michigan, Iowa and Ohio State in the three weeks prior. Oregon will be a tough team to play at an even tougher part of their schedule.
1. At Alabama - Sept. 13
As mentioned before, facing Alabama is a tall task. What's even more difficult is facing the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa after a disappointing first year for head coach Kalen DeBoer. Never say never, but it's unrealistic to assume that Wisconsin has much of a chance in this matchup, considering how much roster turnover has happened in the off-season as well as how much Alabama improved.
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